Golden Night
by antoinette bourbon
Summary: This is the story of Demetri, member of the Volturi guard. His life is pure tedium, until he is assigned to capture a dangerous coven of vampires based in Paris.
1. I am a Rocket

This is the story of Demetri, member of the Volturi guard. His life is pure tedium, until he is assigned to eradicate a dangerous and radical coven of vampires based in Paris. Demetri and all other members of the Volturi are not mine, but Stephanie Meyer's. If you enjoy the story, I would like to hear about it.

Sixty four seconds was all I had. In sixty four seconds, the faintest hint of pink would begin to rise over the horizon of the mountains, forcing my return to the darkness. For an instant, I considered simply staying in the square and watching the sunrise. It had been years since I had, before I had come to Volterra, before I had become who I was now. It would be hours until the humans awoke, hours before they would be able to see my skin sparkle in the dawn. No, I told myself, I was being unreasonable. I chided myself, knowing that I would never be able to see the sunrise over the mountains of Volterra.

I counted backwards in my head, like the countdown to a rocket launch. Five, four, three, two, one….blastoff! I darted into the alleyway, becoming invisible to the humans who were certainly not watching. I jumped downwards into the chute that would take me home, surrounded by the darkness that was my natural habitat. I ran down the winding passageway, anxious to return before my absence was noted, knowing that it would not be. I was not like the pets that Jane and Alec were, I was only noticed by Aro, Marcus and Caius when they had something for me to do. For this, I was grateful. Being the center of attention had never been my preference.

When I reached the public portion of the operation, I slowed my pace, just in case. This was habitual more than it was necessary, I would be able to smell anyone unfamiliar much sooner than I would have seen them. This time a day, the lobby was deserted, but the cheerful background music still played. The jolly piano notes seemed the worst kind of mockery. Day after day, week after week, month after month, the happiness was repeated again and again, never ending, never quieting. Like my life, it was endless, but my life was not jolly by any measure.

The music continued as I rode the elevator, but mercifully stopped as I exited on the third floor. This place was a little more archaic than the rest of the building, with furniture and tapestries that had been collected over the millennia or so that the Volturi had reigned. I passed through the first set of doors, into the sort of lounge that we usually assembled in. It was remarkable how little had happened in the several hours I had spent outside.

Afton and Santiago were still sitting on the floor by the blacked out window, a chessboard sitting between them. Afton moved one of the pieces without touching it, a smirk spreading across his marble features. Santiago winced, and stared even harder at the board. Chelsea and Mona sat beside them, neither looking very interested in the outcome. They were discussing something in the fashion magazine Mona was holding, wondering if they would be allowed to go to Paris like they did last year. Isidor and Corin were watching soccer on the big screen, discussing the likely outcome of the match. Renata was sitting alone, as usual, staring at the television without really seeing anything.

Nothing in this room could hold me, and I continued on, into the library. Here, Augustine was sitting, trapped in a book. Nowadays, the library was ill used; we had all read every single book in it at some point, trying to stay boredom. Augustine was now reading them all again, trying to find some new meaning in the words she had already memorized. I decided to find Felix, he was always entertaining. In an instant, I was heading towards him without thinking about my destination. His trail took me to the next floor, where our private rooms were. He was in Heidi's room. I stopped far from the door, groaning inwardly. Well, he would not be available for some time.

The relationship between Heidi and Felix was rather new, and I tried to think of it without any ill will. I knew that my little crush on Heidi was not, nor would it ever be, love. Still, she was something to think about, something to fixate my attention on. It should not surprise me, this love between them. Most of the love matches between members of the guards were created out of tedium. When you spend every moment with the same people, you are bound to feel something about them out of habit or convenience.

Dejected, I returned to the lounge, sat down in front of the stupid television and watched the meals on legs run to and fro, kicking a ball at each other. Isidor invited me to bet on the match, and I bet twenty Euros on the green ones to win. They lost. As Corin counted the money he had won, Jane walked in, her sickly sweet smile not reaching her scarlet eyes. "We are meeting now." I was suddenly filled with excitement. It must be something important if all of us were needed. The last time we had all met was when we were ordered to kill the Cullen child. I hoped that whatever it was, the outcome would be better than last time.


	2. Memento Mori

We were ushered into the circular room, where Aro, Marcus and Caius were already waiting. One after one, they entered the room, Felix and Heidi some of the last to join us, guilty smiles on their faces. After the last of us had entered, Aro began "I assume that you all know about the situation in Paris?"

"Of course not, I doubt any of them have picked up a newspaper in months." Caius drawled, staring into the faces of his audience.

"The murders in the suburbs?" Augustine said quietly. I vaguely remembered it being discussed by Augustine and Afton some time ago. Perhaps I really should be more aware of what was going on in the world, I thought.

"Yes. There is a coven of mature vampires located in Paris, six in number. They have not given us any trouble for quite some time, but they seem to have gotten sloppy." Aro said, "However, we are going about this a little differently than before. There are several members of the coven who I believe would be useful to us. They are to be captured, and returned to Volterra." This was different. Usually, we were sent to eradicate these dangerous covens. I understood the philosophy behind it, Aro felt us getting weaker. After the disasterous confrontation with the Cullen's, he wanted to bulk up the guard. "We have selected Jane, Alec…" No surprise there. They were always chosen for everything, teacher's pets. You could feel the tension as soon as Aro had begun his list. Every single creature in the room was listening for their name, hoping for some chance to stop the tedium. "Demetri, Augustine, Afton, Santiago, Felix and Lillian." Eight for six, it would be a walk in the park. His strategy was translucent. Myself and Augustine to track them, Jane and Alec to push them into submission, Santiago and Felix to restrain them and Afton and Lillian as backup.

The distance to Paris was fairly short, so we ran. It was amazing to be so uninhibited, to simply live without fear of discovery. I lead the group, feeling slightly smug. Jane and Alec had short little legs, I was faster. As we drew nearer to Paris, the weather remained cloudy. When we entered the city itself, it was strange to have to act human again. We slowed our pace, and Jane grudgingly removed her cloak. Besides the eyes, I thought that we were doing a very good job of it. Sometimes, a human would catch a glimpse of the red, and they quickly turned away, not believing what they saw.

Augustine began our trace, slowly running her fingers across random surfaces on the street; seeing their histories. It was not until she touched a railing, that she saw any hint of them. She smiled, "The one who touched this is redheaded and short. She was wearing a green dress, carrying a blue backpack. She was here sixteen days ago, in the afternoon." I had never seen Augustine work before, it was rather fascinating. "She was heading in this direction, and crossed the street." I inhaled deeply, drawing in the scent of the world around me, seeing if I could capture her scent. Catching the scent of an unfamiliar vampire was very difficult when you were surrounded by vampires. We followed the trail that the redheaded vampire had left until it ended four blocks later, on a brick wall. It did not work, Augustine told us, when the person was covered in clothing. It had to be bare skin for it to work. It had not been more than ten minutes before the wind changed, and we could smell them. Or, rather, I could smell them. Being able to track, I suppose that my senses were more attuned to the new smell.

"This way," I said in a normal tone to those around me, knowing that those who had wandered blocks away would hear me, and soon be at my side. This was my state of being, my natural talent, hunting. Now that I had smelled one, it became all too easy. The only hard part was in keeping a normal pace, when I felt like sprinting ahead. I could almost see their shadows in my mind as I drew closer, knowing from their scent what they would be. There were six females, and one male. One smelled of power, very potent. Their smell became clearer with every step I took, until I could have pinpointed the exact grains of dirt that they were standing on.

I have no concept of how long I had been walking, but did notice when it began to get dark. It was easier this way, I could walk faster. We entered an old cemetery, and they were so close I could almost taste them. "How cliché," Felix whispered, steps behind me. We finally came to a mausoleum, with an inscription in Latin on the top, _Memento Mori_. I laughed aloud at it, _Remember, you will die_. Well, the vampires who lived here should certainly do so, because death was now upon them.


	3. Skulls

There was nothing miraculous about the small stone room. An alter stood in the center, with an ancient coffin positioned in front of it. It reeked of vampires, but there were none in sight. Augustine pressed her hand to the door. "I can see them all entering through this door, and leaving through it again. It does not make sense. A brown haired female came in four hours ago, and has not left. But where is she?"

"They are below us." I said, looking around me for a trapdoor, or a hole. As I moved closer to the coffin, the scent became stronger. "Augustine?" I asked as I gestured towards it.

She placed her hand on the lid, and her eyes lit up. "Of course!" She took off the lid without any trouble, to reveal a hole. We jumped down one by one, at least a hundred feet into the damp cavern. Sculls lined the wall, and bones crunched under my feet. We were in the catacombs. Being so close to death so often, the macabre usually did not bother me, but this was a bit much. Augustine touched one of the sculls, "The last human in this catacomb was the one who placed the bodies here." One of the sides of the cavern had collapsed leaving us only one direction to travel in.

We soon came to a large, black chamber, where five vampires stood waiting for us. I could smell the other fleeing from us. "Jane, there is one escaping through the back, catch her before she gets out of range." Jane sped into the distance, following the female's scent.

"Volturi." The only male said simply. I heard screams from some distance away and I knew that Jane had found her target. The others in the group looked worried, and glanced back towards the cavern where Jane and her victim had gone.

"We have come to bring you back to Volterra to answer to the charges of bringing suspicion upon us." Alec said, surveying the group.

"We have done nothing wrong, although we were wondering when you might try to interfere."

"That shall be decided when we return. If you come quietly, we shall have no reason to hurt you." Alec said these words with a hint of a smile on his lips, probably hoping that there would be a fight. Jane was coming back, walking the escapee with her. The female had long, golden hair, and was staring forcibly at the floor. The male looked at the golden haired female, with infinite sadness on his face. I wondered why all of them were so determined to protect her, why they stayed to give her the chance to escape.

"We shall answer the charges, and hope that the truth is enough to save us." The man said, with bitterness in every word.

"Stanislaus?" the blond said pleadingly, raising her head from the floor for the first time. She was beautiful, ethereal, but her perfect face was marred by a scar on her left cheek, which formed the shape of an M. Her eyes were black and pained, as she looked at the male.

"It is the only way." Another of the females, with a round face and mahogany curls, let out a growl. The blond moved towards her, but the sudden movement caused all of us to jump into action. Felix and Santiago had her pinned to the ground, but she did not struggle, she only screamed as Jane smiled.

"Enough," Alec said lazily. "Let's go. The plane should be ready by now." We led the other vampires back through the tunnel, but stopped when we reached the hole that we had jumped down.

"How do we get back up?" Santiago asked, staring up at the hole. It was much too high to jump, and there was nowhere to climb.

"Answer him." Jane said menacingly, staring at the redheaded female, who looked more frightened than the rest.

"Aurelia flies us." She stammered.

"Which of you is Aurelia?"

"I am." The golden haired one said, staring at the floor again.

"You can fly?"

"Yes."

"Well, take us up." Jane said impatiently. She was standing next to Augustine, and she lifted her off the ground with ease, and simply glided upwards to the ceiling of the cavern. It was not the floating that Aro, Caius and Marcus did, it was real flying. She was so graceful, as she bobbed up and down in the air, carrying us all. When it was my turn, she fixed her hands around my waist, and I was suddenly weightless, free. It was over in less than a second, but the feeling of elation stayed for long enough to make an impression. I tried to catch her eye, but she would not look at me. There was something strangely fascinating about her, the way she moved, and the calmness in her features.

We walked through the streets of Paris, finding them filled with people out enjoying the night. I inhaled their scent, and found myself anxious for my next meal, which was several hours away at least. I could have sworn that Aurelia shot me a dirty look as I did this, but it was so quick I could not be sure. Once we were outside the city limits, we ran. The plane was waiting for us ten minutes outside of the city. None of us had expected the coven to be quite so cooperative. I had thought that we would have to kill several of them at least, but they all seemed remarkably accepting of the situation. Perhaps they really thought that they would be given a reprieve, or they just knew that there was no point in resisting.

They all sat together on the plane, rarely talking. Aurelia looped her arm around the redhead's shoulders, sometimes whispering that everything was going to be all right. She was wrong, of course. Nothing would ever be the same for them again.


	4. Waiting

"Wait here." Jane said, gesturing to the wholly unnecessary furniture. When we had arrived at Volterra, they had decided to meet with the accused one by one, probably to separate the useful ones from those who would be disposed of. Stanislaus was called first, and was taken far enough away that we could not hear what was happening. Aurelia still had her arm around the redhead's shoulder, and the rest of them simply stood there, perhaps knowing what was coming. Jane returned after fifteen minutes, calling the next one by name, "Règine." The redheaded one began to shake, and Aurelia embraced her.

"All will be well, we have done nothing wrong." Règine nodded, and followed Jane out of the room.

"Aurelia, what will happen to us?" A small, dark haired vampire with a heart shaped face spoke, coming to sit with her.

"Nothing. There is one here who can read minds; he will know at once that we are innocent." She sounded certain, although I suspected that she was merely trying to comfort those around her. Jane returned, calling Jennifer forward. Jennifer was blond as well, although her hair was cut at the shoulders. She walked forward, without showing any of the fear that they all felt. Aurelia squeezed her hand as she walked past, and they smiled at each other before Jennifer and Jane disappeared behind the door. Violette, the dark haired one, was called next, followed by Alexandrina, a brunette who had not spoken once since I had seen her.

"Did you do it?" Augustine asked, seeming mildly interested.

"No. None of them hunt within fifty miles of the city. We are always very careful to avoid attention." She shook her head. "I have no hope. I know the real reason that we were summoned here. I would even think that the disappearances were staged to frame us." She looked directly at Felix, as if waiting for him to contradict her. He looked away. Suddenly, I remembered the month that Felix and Santiago had left us without an explanation. They had returned two weeks ago, just when the disappearances had abruptly stopped. It seemed ridiculous, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I wondered why they had decided to go after this coven in particular. There were certainly more powerful vampires than the one sitting in front of me. She could fly, but it was nothing miraculous. None of the others had shown anything extraordinary, if they had some terrible power they would have used it against us when we had taken them. I thought that perhaps it was retribution for the events in Washington last year, but none in this group had been there to bear witness to either side.

I continued to stare at her, waiting for her to become remarkable. Perhaps she would spurt flames or throw lightning bolts at me? She simply looked very normal for a vampire. She was taller than average, wearing dark blue jeans and a gray turtleneck. Around her neck there was a gilded cross, studded with brightly colored gems. She realized I was staring, and she stared back for a moment, before grimacing and looking at the floor. It was at that moment that I realized that she was not normal at all. Her eyes were full of fire.

I was suddenly very worried about her. What if she was killed, what if I never saw her again? I could track her to the ends of the earth, but would she want me there with her? She had looked at me with revulsion just then, why? The last question I wanted to ask, but didn't dare. I could hear Jane coming and was suddenly filled with dread. This could not be the last time I saw her. I suddenly felt the urge to steal her away with me, but it was too late now. If I had seen her clearly before, she might have a chance. At that point, I did not care if I survived, as long as she would continue to be. Knowing all this and knowing that she felt nothing for me could have made my heart explode into pieces, if it was still viable.

She rose before Jane touched the handle, ready to face whatever awaited her. I rose with her, ready to throw myself in front of her, knowing it would do no good. Perfect, I thought, I had fallen in love with her hours from her inevitable death. I only hoped Aro did not touch me, these were secrets I wanted to take to my metaphorical grave. "Aurelia, it is time." Jane said sweetly, smiling. Jane's smiles usually meant misfortune.

We walked through the twisting hallways of the underground caverns, and I watched her hair sway back and forth as she walked. It seemed to be over in seconds, although I desperately wanted it to last forever. As soon as we entered the chamber, I saw Aro's clouded eyes fill with glee. "Aurelia," he sang, "You are the one we have been waiting for."


End file.
